RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Two Brazilian police officers were charged with extorting money and an iPod from U.S. police officers on vacation in Rio de Janeiro for the Pan American Games.
The incident took place before dawn on Wednesday when four Los Angeles officers left a nightclub in a taxi, Rio police said Thursday in a statement.
"They were stopped by a patrol car, and two of them were forced to get in and the other two were allowed to leave," Rio tourism police chief Fernando Veloso said in the statement.
The remaining two were allegedly taken to an apartment they had rented and forced to hand over about $1,850, along with the iPod.
They later identified the suspects from photographs.
Police did not say what threats the Brazilian officers allegedly made, and the U.S. Consulate declined to comment.
It was not clear if the Americans, who were not identified, were still in Rio.
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